Aetna's Six-Year Study of Consumer-Directed Health Plans

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Mar 17, 2009

A study of 2.6 million Aetna members (410,000 in an Aetna HealthFund® plan) demonstrates that Aetna HealthFund shows sustained savings for employers over a five-year period, with members getting the care they need. The results also show that Aetna HealthFund members are seeking increased levels of chronic and preventive care, using generic drugs more often and accessing online tools and information at higher rates than PPO members, while experiencing lower annualized medical cost increases. Importantly, this year’s results also show that Aetna HealthFund members had lower emergency room use than PPO members, suggesting that members are becoming better informed about where to access health care.

Key findings include:

For full replacement HRA and HSA plans, employers saved $21 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period.

For employers who offer Aetna HealthFund plans as an option, they experienced savings of $7 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period.

For employers who offer Aetna HealthFund plans as an option and implemented the strategies that Aetna identified as best-in-class, they achieved savings of $23 million per 10,000 members over the five-year period.

"In these difficult economic times, employers are looking for tried-and-true strategies that will allow them to continue to offer their employees a comprehensive and affordable benefits package," said Aetna President Mark Bertolini. "As the first national health plan to offer consumer-directed products, Aetna has the longest experience with these plans and the best insight into what strategies are successful."